On July 18, the California Supreme Court removed Proposition 9 from the ballot. This is the initiative to split California into three states. See this story.
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Joe Mathews has this column on California voter turnout at Fox and Hounds. He says that if one conceives of the June event in California as the general election, and then one compares it to past general elections, the top-two system has severely injured voter turnout.
New Mexico election law generally requires all candidates for Congress and state office to file petitions, to get on the ballot, no matter how they are running. Candidates need petitions to get on a primary ballot; minor party nominees (who are nominated by convention) need petitions; independent candidates need petitions.
But for county office, there is no petition requirement for candidates seeking to get on a primary ballot. However, minor party nominees and independent candidates do need petitions, and the independent petition, 3% of the last gubernatorial vote, is severe.
On July 18, Carol Miller, an independent candidate for Rio Arriba County Commission, filed a lawsuit in state court, arguing that the New Mexico Constitution does not permit the state to require petitions for independent candidates, while not requiring them for major party members. Miller v Padilla, District Court, 6th district, Santa Fe. The case has a hearing on Monday, July 23, at 10 a.m. The New Mexico Constitution says, “Elections shall be free and equal.” The case is based on the State Constitution. UPDATE: here is a news story about the lawsuit.
Former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman has recommended that New York voters in the 14th U.S. House district vote against the Democratic nominee, and in favor of Working Families Party nominee Joseph Crowley. See this story.
On Wednesday, July 18, the Michigan Supreme Court heard 90 minutes of argument over whether an initiative to create a nonpartisan redistricting commission should be on the ballot. See this story. Everyone agrees that the initiative had enough valid signatures, but state government officials say the measure can’t be on the ballot because it is a revision, not an amendment. However, there is no definition of those terms in the State Constitution.